Finishing a Natural Quilt Maple Top?

[dhbomber]

Hello! I'm new around here!
I'm planning on building my first bass and obviously using Warmoth products!
I'm going for a Jazz Bass body, thinking about a mahogany or walnut body with a Quilted Maple top without binding or pin stripe seperating them. Is this possible?

But my main question, considering this is the finishing section....How do you get a nice 3D natural (transparent) quilt maple GLOSS finish?
I've read everything on how to do that on a stained neck...but how do you get the quilt (grain) to really pop on a transparent top?

I've been thinking on applying just a little bit of brown stain to the top so the grains get colored...that way I can sand it back and get the quilt patterns really pop out.

Am I wrong?

Thanks guys!

 

[greywolf]

There's a few ways to approach it .  You can put a light coat of stain  in a darker shade on,  then back sand it down and put the main color on and it will make it pop. 

On my Trans blue  Tele  I sealed the wood with nitro base lacquer  then shot trans blue  from guitar re-ranch over it http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/blutran.html and many coats of clear . This prevents the color from soaking in , and if I ever change my mind on color it is much easier to do as it isn't in the wood.

 

[greywolf]

If you don't want to tint at all a mixture of  1/2 linseed oil  1/2 shellac will do it .
  Or as I did on my last 2 , Watco oil , then let it dry  , sand to with 800 grit and then shoot many thin coats of nitro lacquer.

I've done the Watco / Nitro on Purpleheart /Mahogony/Koa/Lacewood and Zebrano all with good success., just let it dry real well before sanding / Nitro .

 

[Patrick from Davis]

To make the grain pop, some color will be added.  Reranch fender neck amber is common to spray on maple necks to get it to really blossom.  It does add some yellows to the overall color, but the figuring really comes through.  Dyes make quilt pop like no other.  If you want the natural look that yellows or ambers are the colors to look at.  If you want some of the less natural but more spectacular finishes then it is a dye, sand, blend combo that you have to try.  I got a decent fire burst on my quilt top with dyes.  But if you want it to be more wood like, look into ambers and yellows.
Patrick